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Getting out of the van with Seamus, Jane wondered if the town’s na sunny about it It wasn’t even a town, really Just a collection of ra that looked like a bar of some kind, and a place that sold snowmobiles and dirt bikes

What it looked like was soht down to the creepy, weird sound of an unseen wind chion Even the shedlike building they used for the food bank looked weird, she thought as she grabbed a case of Chef Boyardee It looked like a caboose

The caboose of a train that was s tiht

They were going up the stairs with the heavy boxes when she saw that there was another collection of buildings, to the rear of the food bank It was a trailer park A huge, excessively run-down one As she watched, there was a sudden roar, and a heavy wo a motorcycle shot out from between two of the decrepit structures

If they got out of this alive, she’d never coain, she decided as she dropped off the cans and went back for more

It took theet the boxes inside the food bank caboose and unpacked The food was hettiOs, Del Monte fruit—and dry goods: macaroni and cheese, ra the shelves, it looked like a grocery store

A line of people from the trailer park formed quickly It was obvious they were in bad straits Whites, blacks, Hispanics All of therant workers out of work got

Jane and Eddie ran around behind the counter, putting together the orders, while Sea IDs of people ere on the church’s food bank giving list

They were just about all out of food when the gang of trailer-park kids cae fro as their parents They wore filthy T-shirts and jeans, filthy sneakers One of the white kid with an Afro puff of curly brown hair, didn’t even have shoes, Jane noticed in horror from behind the counter

“Hey, you guys like baseball?” the oldest of theh sot a little field back here, and ondering if you guys wanted to play”

Before they could answer, Guillered-up alu

“Would that be OK, Father? Could they play some baseball with us?”

“That would be fine, kids Just don’t go too far We’ll be leaving soon enough”

Jane stood behind the counter, frozen She stared at her grandfather like he was crazy She didn’t want to play baseball with California’s version of Children of the Corn She elve! And a girl!

“C’mon, now Jane, Eddie, c’ help today You can play for a little while with them while Brian stays here with me to clean up”